Stalk-cutting machine.



C. A. FELMLEY.

STALK CUTTING. MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 4 1916 1,279,680. Patented Sept. 24,1918.

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C. A. FELMLEY.

STALK CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.4.-19|5.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

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sALK cumNe MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 4, I9`I6.

Patented Sept. 24,1918.

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C. A. FELMLEY'.

v sIALKcuTnNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1916. Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

- of theA mechanism for operating thefeeding UNITED sfrArns Parana: ornrcn 5 of Washington, have inventedl certain new and useful Improvements in Stalk-Cutting.

Machines, of which the following is a specication. 5

This invention is a machine 'for cutting the saine to a' pulp which be used for fertilizing the ground.v The invention vhas for its object the provision 'of a machine `which will befsimple Ain construction and arrangement Vand* eiiici'ent' in operation wherebyrthe'stalks or vines fed thereto will be automatically'freduced to a pulpy condi# tion and discharged'in position to be placed ydirectly upon the plants `to be fertilized or .delivered intol Ia f receptacle vfor subsequent use.

The-invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings and consists -in certain -n'ovel'features which' willbe first vfully de scribed and. then more particularly pointed outin the claim following the description. l Y

In? the drawings:

lligure lis aside elevation of a'machi'ne embodying my improvements;.

Fig.l 2 is a vertical longitudinal section mechanism; y Y Y y'fFig V3 is an end view with thefhopper re moved; I p Y vFige is a Vdetail iview;` on ra larger scale,

apronor conveyer; v

Fig.` 5 is an end View,v showing another 'form of the invention; y ,Fig.`,.6 isa detail` side vi mentI shown in Fig. '5. Y

In; carrying out'myinvention, I employ 'a suitable frame consistingof standards or, legs 41 which maybe mounted. uponrun ners or rollerswhereby they 'machine maybe drawnfo'verna field between rows of plants in order'to deliver the pulp directly around thel'roots of the plantsfj These standards or legswill preferably be l constructed of anglei 'iron and*r Y they supr'ortV longitudinal beams 2 of similar` 'form.: {Near the front ends of the lonsitudinalfbeams the less 0r standards are :offset: orfjinclined upwardly; and ,rearwardly andeloeeeted'reftwallyis@ stalks of cane or otherplants and reducing v v4ken through the 'cuttingfand vcrushing ew 'of the arrangefvv sunk-CUTTING MACHINE I i Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sieptp24v, 1.918,

Application filed January 4,1916. Serial No; 70,233, i i

as ltofeXtend above the said beams and are spaced from vertical posts V3, the posts and adjacent standards being connected at their upper ends by a transverse beam4, as shown and as will be readily understood. The opposed faces 'of the standards'and postsare provided with guides 5 in which' are mountj ed the endsVV of aV cross head carrying a knife '7 which `is adapted toV coact with a ViiXed bladey 8 in order t0 cut across the stalks with a shearing cut,the edge of ysaid knife being inclined asy shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Thesaid'lixedknife 8 is secured y to the front face ofpa transverse block9 disposed betweenf'the posts .and having f: l

its rear side` made ""concave'and encircling the'major'portion of the front turn' or big-ht l"ofthe feeding apronjorjconveyer lO'which is carried around and supported by rollers boi-"drums 11` mounted in vsuitable bearings upon thebeamsij It will falso be noted the upperrun of thisfeeding apron or'con veyer is-in the same horizontal planea'spthe tgp vSurface jef menneke so that thebleek lies. flush ,with the upperrun jof`.thecon:

veyer, whereby fthe upperfsurfaceofiithe block forms i. practically a continuation fof r the 'apron and stalks l may passfreely ffroni the api-onto the table. Abovethe conveye'r, arms l2 are 'pivotedv to and extend rear-V wardly' fromthe posts and a roller n 13' is journal'ed 'to the; free 'ends yof thesearrns andextends between the same so as to bear upon the stalks and partlyfcompress them sof so' that the ends thereof will pass under'the knfsf easily' and without anyftendencyto strikeagainst,thelsame This ,roller is` rotated vsolely friction'al engagement with the stalks and is `vlocatedjat a substantial distance from the concave side of the block Y whereby its weightlwill tend todepress a portionvof the' apronl V'at thefrear of its bight portionito give stalksifnpas'sing; `'rcm -the apron 1 to the' 'table an Vupward tinclination Y: and `so preventv their ends engaging theedge ofthe table It is held to the'stalks by gravity 'scgthatits weightwill holdit in its p 'Y operative position!y and there n will be fno mechanism to adjust so thatv the roller may be Veasily 'lifted or withdrawn in'order to guide the stalks underfthe samewhen ystart-l ing the operation of the machine.' l

Power'may be imparted to: the Voperating 'mechanism-jfronr any convenient 'or preferred prime motor yandfl prefer, in actual practice, to'mount a gas engine upon the frame and connect the same by a belt 14; with a band pulley 15 secured upon the end of a driving shaft 16 mounted in suitable bearings upon the frame. The driving shaft 16 extends transversely of the frame andisprov'ided adjacent each end vwith a pinion 17 which meshes .with a rgear wheel 18 secured upon the adjacent end of a shaft 19 carrying the inner crushing roller 20. Each gear wheel 18 meshes with a similar gear wheel 21 on the adjacent end of a shaft 22 carrying the forward crushing roller 23. Both the crushing rollers are longitudinally corrugated upon their circumferential surfaces and it will be readily noted that, as the actuating gears arev of Adifferent diameters, one roller will rotate. at a higher speed than the other roller, ythereby exerting a disintegrating as well as a crushing force upon the stalks fed between them so that the pieces of stalk will be ground into a pulp. Each gear wheel 18 is provided with a ywrist pin 2&1 on which is pivoted the lower end vof a pitman 25 which has its upper end pivoted to the adjacent end of the cross head 6 so that, as the gear wheels are rotated,

vertical reciprocatorymovement will be imparted to the cross head Yand the knife carried thereby. An'eccentric or cam. 26 .is secured upon the shaft 19 andto the strap 27 of said eccentric is securedraneccentric rod 28 which is pivotedv to an actuating lever 29 fulcrumed upon the adjacent longitudinal beam 2. To the said lever 29 is adjustably secured a pitman 30 having its upper end'pivotally attached to a collar 31 which is loosely mounted upon the end of the shaft 32 carrying the rolleror drum 11. A pawl 33 is pivotally mounted upon the collar 31 and this pawl is adapted to ride upon and engage a ratchet wheel 34 which is fixed to thefshaft 32. It will .thus be readily understood that, as the pitman 30 is reciprocated, the collar 31 will be oscillated upon `the shaft 32and the-pawl, consequently, caused to operatively engage the ratchet 34 and thereby transmit a step by step movement to the shaft 32 and the drum 11 so that the feeding apron 10 will advance the stock intermittently to the cutters. The adjustable connection of the pitman and the lever 29 will enable the operator to arrange the parts so as to compensate for wear and will also enable him to accurately time the movement of the feeding apronand the cutters so that the stock will be fedto the cutters uniformly and delivered in pieces of uniform length.

A deiector or 4hood 35 is secured across the front end ofthe machine and hasvan open rear side so that the proper movement ofthe vpieces of the stalk from the cutters Will not'be impeded. The lower end 4of the front wall ofV the 'hopper is bent inwardly,

as shown at 36, so as to Vdirect the cut pieces of stalks into the bi ght between the crushing rollers 2O and 23 so that all stock will be delivered to said rollers. Below the crushing rollers is a receiver 37 which has closed ends and sides downwardly converging, and Ahas its bottom inclined toward both ends from -its cent-ral point, as indicated at 38, thereby providing two discharge spouts 39 whereby the pulp will be delivered at the sides of the machine. n

It is 'thought the operation of the machinewill be readily Vunderstood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. rlhe stalks and vines which may be cut-down from the plants are placed upon the feeder apron 10, as indicated at 10, and will be carried by said apron to the cutters and the crushing rollers. As the ends of the stalks move beyond and over the block 9 4and the vfixed knife 8, the cross head 6 is brought down so as to carry the knife 7 acrossthe ends of the stalks and thereby cut the same into short lengths. The short pieces `of stalks drop to `thecorrugated crushing rollers and are then acted upon by said 4rollers so as to be crushed and disintegrated V,and passed from the said rollers in the form of a pulp which willvemerge from the spouts 39. If the machine be drawn over a field between two rows of growing plants, the pulp may be delivered upon` the ground drectly around the stems of said plants or, if preferred, the machine may remainstationary and the-pulp delivered into Asuitable receptacles from which it may be subse- .quently applied when needed.

My machine is very simple in the construction and arrangement of its partsand will be found highly efficient in operation. By its use the stalks and vines which are now vpermitted tofdry and then burned,may be advantageously employed as fertilizer so as to enrich the ground and prevent the same becoming barren.

It is to be understood that I do not limi myself to the eXact details I have described and that various changes'may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as thesame is dened inthe following claim.

One modification is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 in which a. shaft 50 is substituted yfor the cross head 6 and journaled in suitable bearings upon the frame approximately in the horizontal Vplane of the advancing stock. Between the standards or sides of the frame, this shaft is equipped with a cutter headV 51 upon which are secured knives 52 of an ogee or approximately spiral form so that they will exert a drawing or shearing cut upon the stock lying upon and projecting over the lower stationary knife. vThe shaft 19 and its gear wheels l18 are retained in this modiied arrangement but, instead .of the pitmen 25, I provide pinions 53 and 54 upon the sides of the frame which are driven directly bythe wheels 18 and transmit the motion of the same directly to pinionsr55 on the shaft 50. It is my intention to supflushwith the upper surface ofthe apron so that stalks cannot drop between the block Y Copies of this patent may be obtained for and the apron and choke the operation but must pass to the cutters. The block also forms an abutment to sustain the stalks under the movable knife and also forms a rear guide and guard to direct the Yout pieces and stalks to the crushing rollers and prevent such pieces falling in rear of said rollers.

VHaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: Y Y v In a stalk cutting machine, a supporting frame, an endless` feeding apron mounted thereon, a table forming block carried by' the frame with its upper surface substantially flush with the upper surface of the Y feeding apron and with its rear side concaved to t closely to and encircle the major portion of the front bight end of the feeding apron, and a-relatively heavy roller swingingly supported to rest by gravity upon stalks carried by the apron and mounted to revolve solely by frictional engage- Y ment with the stalks, the roller being located at a substantial distance from the concave side of the block whereby its Yweight will tend todepress a portion of the apron at the rear of its bight portion to give stalks passing from the apron to the table an upward inclination and so prevent their ends engaging the edge of the table.V

In testimony whereof, I aiiiX my signature. Y Y

CALVIN A. FELivmEY. [La] ve cents each, by vaddressing the fcommissioner of Taten, Washington, D. G. Y 

